In the Walls of Sina High
by Averagesawce
Summary: Armin thought Jean was the biggest jerk in school. But that was only how Eren described him to be. So when the "biggest jerk" starts being nice to you, you can only imagine how crazy things get. Flying balls, crying babies, clumsy Armin, and stupid Eren. Just your average day in the walls of Sina High. Jean x Armin [Modern AU]
1. Great Start

**A/n: Awsomesawce here! This is my first fanfic so forgive me if there are any mistakes. I also apologize if the characters are OOC. Anyway, ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own AoT/SnK and if I did, Petra wouldn't be dead. **

* * *

Armin shivered.

Despite the button-up coat and the hoodie, he was still freezing.

The small blond was at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to Sina High. The time was currently 7:16 in the morning and the temperature was unbearably low.

_'Six minutes late.'_ Armin grumbled, glancing at his watch. _'Great way to start off the school year.'_

Armin Arlert was now a second year at Sina High School ("Home of the Titans") along with his childhod friends, Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman. He enjoyed their company, but was unable to meet them until on the bus(which was late, by the way). They were the reason Armin was able to survive his first year of high school. And hopefully they could make it through another one together.

After checking his watch for the eighth time now, Armin could barely make out the sound of a bus driving up the street. And as it came into view, the sixteen-year-old felt like jumping for joy because it meant A: he wouldn't be late, and B: he could finally see his two best friends after three months of having to travel with his dad.

The bus halted in front of him and the double doors hissed open.

"Took you long enough." Armin barked at the driver as he stepped on.

"Whatever. Just hurry up." The bus driver, Hannes, slurred.

Armin walked past him and cringed. He covered his nose. "Have you been drinking again? You know that's not good for _us_."

As an answer, Hannes lurched the bus forward, causing Armin to lose his balance and fall forward. He grabbed at the leather seats in an attempt to stop falling, but with no luck.

Fortunately, he landed on someone sitting down, his face on the guy's hard chest. _Unfortunately, _it was Jean Kirschstein's chest.

"What the fuck?!" Jean yelled. "Get off me!" He was attracting the attention of everyone on the bus. On normal circumstances, the brunette wouldn't mind the attention, but right now another guy was on top of him.

"S-sorry." Armin stammered. His cheeks began turning a shade of red.

Jean and Armin...not really friends. That was mainly Eren's fault. Years of fighting and bickering had cause many detentions, many punishments, and rivalry between the two. Armin was merely dragged into it. He had never hurt or bothered anyone, let alone Jean. (Except for that one time in seventh grade when he had accidentally whacked Mikasa upside the head with a dildo Eren had found during a field trip―don't ask.)

But other than that, he was clean!

So when Armin looked up at silver, glaring eyes, the smaller boy was petrified. He gingerly placed both hands on Jean's chest―which caused his already pink cheeks to redden―and pushed himself off of him. "S-sorry." Armin repeated, getting on his feet.

_'I must look so stupid!'_ He growled in his head.

"Hey, Horseface!" A familiar voice yelled. "Stay away from Armin! He doesn't need you infecting him or anything!"

Armin (and Jean) turned and saw a face that immediately brought a smile on his face.

"Eren!" The blond wrapped his arms around said boy. It felt so good to finally see and hear him after so long.

"Hey, Armin. It's been a while." Eren said in a different tone than before. He, too, slung his arms around the other boy. "How were your dad's trips?", Eren asked and released Armin.

"Great! Dad took me to see the ocean after his business and―" Armin began answering, but stopped after seeing no sign of his other best friend.

Armin frowned and raised a brow,"Where's Mikasa?"

"Oh. She walked ahead of time because she knew Hannes would be late."

"Oh." Armin was disappointed that he couldn't see her until they arrived at school, but was interrupted of his thoughts when Hannes shouted at the front of the bus.

"Oi! You kids better sit down or you'll end up falling like Armin." He ordered, looking at everyone through the rear-view mirror.

Surprised at his random outburst of authority, the occupants of the bus averted their eyes from Armin, Eren, and Jean.

"Come on, Armin. Let's sit at the back before Jean starts crying." Eren sauntered off, proud for saying the last words.

Armin made to follow suit, but the bus came to a sudden stop. First, there was losing balance, next there was falling, and then landing on something hard and warm.

_'Fuck.'_

* * *

That wasn't too bad, right?

Please favorite, follow, or review if you can. REVIEWS ARE MY SOURCE OF POWER! **\(-_-)/**


	2. A Certain Brunette

**A/n: I noticed that the previous chapter was shorter than I expected, so I tried to make this one much longer. **

**Once again, forgive me for any mistakes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Sina High isn't the most horrible school, but it isn't perfect either.

The school's buildings were painted dark green with some light brown. Much effort was put into making both the buildings and the campus as clean as it was. The only issue was the trash, but that was expected in most schools. It's logo was surprisingly not a Titan, but a white wing overlapping a blue wing called "the Wings of Freedom."

As it said on the school sign on campus, Sina High was "Home of the Titans." Titans was the name of the football and the basketball team and anybody in it. It was also the name given to the bullies around school.

Baseball, basketball, hockey—you name it, Sina High had a team for it. In fact, the school was known for it's athleticism. At least half of the students are athletic in some way. The rest are normal people—people like Armin.

The teachers and staff were... interesting. They ranged from sadistic clean-freaks to crazy, hyperactive scientists. One teacher, Mr. Pixis, always sat down during class and rarely spoke. Occasionally, he would drink from a silver canteen, but nobody actually knew what was in it. The principal was adored by most of the female students (and some guys) and was dubbed "the Sexy Mailman." The nickname didn't really make sense to Armin and it kinda creeped him out.

But in the end, Sina High was considered the best school in the district.

* * *

Armin's first class was English I with Mr. Bozado.

He sat in the front of the class farthest to the left—closest to the windows. He was rarely seen staring into space and not paying attention to the teacher, but today was different. Armin was going through a pretty rough morning. Not only had he fallen on his best friend's arch nemesis, but he did it twice! Armin could care less if the class was going over the school rules, his problems were definitely more major.

Meanwhile, Jean was going through the same ordeal. He did not find one bit of comfort in having another man on top of him. Right now he was staring at the back pf Armin's head. _He _was the cause of the situation.

Actually, Jean wasn't sure if the problem _was_ Armin. He knew it was just an accident. Maybe it was the way the small blond had blushed while tou—

"_Jean!_"

"Huh." the aforementioned boy quickly spun his head in the direction of the voice. It was Marco, his friend, who had hissed his name. He was nodding his head as if to get Jean to look ahead.

"What?"Jean asked before lifting his head to examine the front of the room. What he saw were the eyes of Mr. Bozado and most of the class, excluding Armin.

"I said," the English teacher said annoyed "Would you please recite the first rule for us?"

Jean gave him a dumb look with his mouth in the shape of an 'o' before answering. "Oh...yeah, I can do that." He rose from his chair, school agenda opened to the rules and guidelines in hand. Slowly, Jean read the first "General School Guideline."

" '_Students are to obey teachers and other staff members at all times_.' "

"And you would do well to follow that." Mr. Bozado added matter-of-factly. "Now sit down and don't let me catch you staring at Armin again."

Jean's eyes widened and he felt his face burn. He settled into his chair and sank. He left his arms to dangle off the sides, his head low to hide his embarrassment.

Sniggers filled the room while Armin gazed at Jean in disbelief. He went over what the teacher had announced.

_'He couldn't have been staring at me...'_

_'Right?'_

* * *

After Study Hall, Geometry, and Geography (his favorite so far), Armin was hurriedly making his way to Health/Science. He had gone back to his locker to fetch his science textbook after realizing he had forgotten it. By the time he did, he was already inside the classroom. Now he was frantically speed-walking down the halls before Ms. Hanji could mark him tardy.

Armin turned a final corner and, with a sigh of relief, opened the second door on the right.

"I'm here!" Armin panted as he burst into the classroom. All the eyes fell on him.

"Relaaax!" Ms. Hanji spoke up after seconds of silence. "I wasn't gonna mark you late anyway. Just take a seat." She motioned at the tables with her hand.

Armin gave her a curt nod as a thank you before inspecting the room. The table were designed to seat only two people and the blond really wanted to sit beside a friend. Unfortunately, both Eren and Mikasa were taking Chemistry, abandoning Armin with complete strangers. The only vacant chair was next to...

_Jean._

Of all people, _Jean_ was his partner for the rest of the year, the number one person Armin didn't want to be with.

Armin reluctantly walked to the table, his legs feeling heavy, and 'plopped' in the chair.

Armin let out an angry sigh. (**A/n: Just imagine it.**)

"What?" Jean whipped his head around to face Armin. "Unhappy about something? You don't think I'm nice enough to be around?"

"Bingo." Armin replied. He didn't really sense anger in the taller boy's tone. It was like he was trying to seem friendly.

"Well, I am." Jean responded. "Just give it some time and who knows."

"Whatever."

Ms. Hanji had started off by lecturing the class about the rules of the science room, but she drifted off into the wonders of the human body.

"And pretty soon we'll start the Baby Project." Ms. Hanji explained in a sort of happy trance. "Your partners will be random so you might not get the partners you have now, but pairings aren't always boy/girl so be careful." At the end, she gave a chuckle. "_Hehehehe..._"

A couple of students raised their brows and shuffled in their seats in discomfort. They all had the same thought in their heads: _'This bitch is crazy!'_ Two girls, Ymir and Christa, blushed and looked at each other when it was announced that pairings weren't guaranteed to be boy/girl.

Armin, on the other hand, blushed lightly at the prospect of caring for a baby with Jean. He wasn't sure if the brunette would be a good father. He decide to sneak a peek at his partner through the corner of his eye, but was shocked to discover that he, too, was taking a glance.

Both boys jumped and returned their attention to Ms. Hanji, who was now writing notes on the board.

Armin reached for his strapbag and retrieved a pencil and a notebook with the word "Science" written on the cover. He flipped to the first page and began writing.

Awkward silence had fallen between Armin and Jean for the rest of the period.

_Just how much could Armin endure?_

* * *

It was lunchtime in no time.

Armin stood patiently in line for lunch, holding the green tray, after reuniting with Eren and Mikasa. They were discussing their day so far.

"And so I took it in my hand and I slapped it!" Eren finished off his story with some hand motions. He turned to Armin. "What about you, Armin? Anything interesting happen?"

The boy went over whether or not he should tell the two about Jean in his head, but decided against it. "No. Nothing really exciting."

The line moved.

The trio of friends quickly got their food—a pasta of some kind, peas and corn, mashed potatos, and orange juice in a carton—and strolled around the cafeteria, looking for a table.

"What about you, Mikasa? Did something fun happen in one of your classes?" Eren asked, continuing their previous conversation.

"Well Sasha said that she..."

Armin stopped listening after that. He was too occupied in trying to find somewhere to eat their lunch.

So occupied, in fact, that he didn't notice someone tall with brown hair standing in front of him.

***KRASH***

Armin collided with the person's back. His tray smashed against the hard body, food spreading and smearing all over the stranger's jacket. The result was a mess of red and white with dots of green and yellow. And somehow, the carton ripped open and the contents spilled. Orange was invading the white of the taller boy's jacket.

Oh. My. God.

"Wow." Eren's voice was heard distantly. "You really fucked up, Armin."

* * *

**I kind of abused the use of italics. Hehe...**

**Anyway, that's the end for this chapter and leave a review if you can. \(-_-)/**


	3. Flying Balls

**A/n: Thank you to the two people who reviewed. It feels so good to know that people actually read my story.**

**This chapter is a only couple words longer than the last one so...sorry.**

**As always, forgive mistakes and enjoy.**

* * *

Marco.

It had been Marco whom Armin had clumsily crashed into. To make matters worse, his lunch had transformed Marco's spotless, white zip-up hoodie into a colorful mess. Armin's body froze, ashamed and horrified. He could not believe how much of a klutz he was.

After countless apologies and an offer to help clean up, Armin had dismissed himself from the cafeteria and retired to the library, seeking solitude. His embarrassment had not died down after lunch and stayed for the remainder of the day. Even after a week, Armin couldn't show his face around Marco and sitting next to his best friend during science class didn't help the situation, it just raised the level of awkwardness.

Now a week had passed and Armin was warming up for P.E., along with the rest of the class gathered in the school's gymnasium. The teacher, Mr. Shadis, was walking between rows, inspecting the students and yelling at anyone who messed up.

"Mr. Springer! Your push-ups are complete shit!" Mr. Shadis spat at Connie, a friend with a lack of hair. "You need to go lower!"

Armin witnessed the scene from a few rows back. During the past week, he noticed that the man wasn't one with words. The scrawny blond was trying his best to make his push-ups up to Mr. Shadis's standards when he heard a crunching sound from behind.

Armin's head swiveled around to find out what the sound was. It was Sasha and she was sitting cross-legged, munching on some potato chips from the school vending machines. Armin wasn't surprised. The girl's stomach was never full.

Unfortunately, Mr. Shadis had heard Sasha's loud crunching too. She was definitely in trouble.

"Sasha!" the coach yelled, marching towards said girl. "How many fucking times have I told you not to fucking eat in the fucking gym!" Mr. Shadis now towered over the girl siting on the wood floor.

Sasha blinked in confusion before lifting the bag of chips. "You want some?" That wasn't the brightest thing to say.

* * *

"It's her fault she has to run for the rest of the class." Jean said as he kicked the ball to Marco.

"Well, you can't blame her. Sasha has no limits when it comes to food." Marco feigned passing the soccer ball back to Jean and laughed as Thomas slid on the slick floor while attempting to steal it. Marco dribbled the ball to the opposing goal and kicked it straight past the goalie, who wasn't paying attention to the game, but fixing her nails. The goal earned Marco a number of cheers from his team and one "good job!" from Mr. Shadis.

Marco returned to Jean and gave his friend a high-five before continuing their conversation. "Like I said, you can't blame her. I'm sure anybody else would have done what she did."

"If they were crazy." Jean chipped in.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the gym, Armin was also paying no attention to the match. Mr. Shadis had told the class that their first sports unit of the year was soccer, a sport Armin had absolutely no experience in whatsoever—but then again, he wasn't one for sports. Right now, the blond was pretending to straighten his P.E. clothes so he could appear to be doing something and not look like he was slacking off.

That must not have done the trick because Mr. Shadis roared from the top of the bleachers. "Arlert! Get your ass in the game! You don't get graded for just standing there!"

Just as the last word rolled off his tongue, the ball was sent flying at Armin, as if to force him to participate. Armin panicked and did the only thing he could do: cover his head with his arms and duck. The ball soared over the small, hunched body and smashed into the face of an innocent bystander.

The sound of laughter erupted and echoed in the large room. The embarrassment burning inside Armin was more intense and much worse than when he had ruined Marco's jacket.

_'Great. I'm starting off sophomore year with a reputation for looking like a complete fool.'_ Armin thought. His blue eyes looked around the gym and saw the disappointed look of Mr. Shadis and his classmates laughing hysterically—at both Armin and the groaning boy laying beside him, clutching his red face.

A few students weren't laughing. Eren and Mikasa were giving Armin pitiful looks and a third year by the name of Annie was staring at him blankly. Marco was frowning at the ones who were laughing and—Armin's eyes stopped at Jean.

The taller boy was staring at the smaller, but unlike Annie, a hint of sympathy was in his eyes. Their eyes met for a second before Armin averted his gaze to Eren and Mikasa, who were now walking over to him.

"Need some help?" Eren asked, reaching out a hand.

* * *

The café across Sina High was pretty popular among the high school students and it's busiest hour was after classes. It was at this small café that Armin, along with Eren, Mikas, Connie, and Sasha, was currently in. They sat at a table near the floor-to-ceiling windows with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin on one side and Connie and Sasha on the other.

"I'm sooo hungry." Sasha stated for the third time in five minutes. She dove into her fourth apple pie. "Shadis didn't have to make me run for the _entire_ period." Sasha said with her mouth full, crumbs dropping on the table.

"And _you_ don't have to speak with your mouth full." Connie grimaced and took a swig of his coffee.**(A/n: Any kind of coffee.)**

The table joined in laughter as the bell hanging above the café door jingled, signaling a new customer. Armin lifted his head from his drink—a herbal tea—and peered at the entrance. In strolled Jean, followed by Marco.

Armin didn't know why, but he choked on his tea. The blond coughed to get the drink out of his throat.

"What's wrong, Armin?" Eren questioned. He followed the direction of Armin's gaze and his face immediately fell upon seeing the sight of Jean. "Ugh. What's he doing here?"

"He's probably just here to eat." Mikasa replied, nibbling on her bagel. She finished chewing. "This _is_ a local café. He can be in here if he wants."

"What the hell, Mikasa?!" Eren snarled. "Are you actually falling for that horse?" His eyes flaring with anger. Mikasa only shrugged her shoulders. By then, Connie and Sasha had stopped eating and drinking to see what the fuss was about.

Connie turned to look at what Armin was staring at. "Hey, look. Jean's here. He should come over." He raised his arm to catch Jean's attention, oblivious to Eren's issues with the taller boy.

"No! Put your hand down!" Eren's arms shot out towards Connie, but he was too late. Jean had noticed the boy's greeting and began striding to their table, Marco close by.

* * *

Jean had visited the café, planning to purchase only a coffee and quickly leave, but apparently, he was getting more. When he had seen Connie beckoning him to sit with his group, Jean hesitated. Eren was there and they weren't really fond of each other, but upon seeing Armin seated behind the annoying brunette, a part of him said "go."

And so he did.

Jean and Marco had said "hello" and squeezed into Connie's side of the table, while Eren frowned. Clearly, he wasn't enjoying _his_ company. The two then started chatting with Connie—with Mikasa saying a few words—while Sasha was devouring what seemed like her sixth pie.

After a few minutes, Jean began drifting from their conversation regarding the upcoming football season at Sina and now he was fingering his empty foam cup, while glancing at Armin across from him. The whole time, the smaller boy had just sat there absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the wood and occasionally sipping his cup. Jean desperately wanted to start a different conversation with Armin to break the ice, but he knew Eren would stop them and argue.

And so he continued playing with his cup.

* * *

"Bye, Connie. Bye, Sasha." Armin, Eren, and Mikasa said their goodbyes to the "couple" before parting ways. Jean and Marco had left earlier.

The sky was now a beautiful orange and yellow and the sun was close to setting. Armin kicked a rock on the sidewalk and stuffed his hand into his pocket and clutched his bag's strap. The silence between the three of them was bothering him. Armin knew Eren wanted to say something because he stared at the ground in front of him, his brows furrowed.

Armin resumed kicking the rocks.

After a couple of blocks, the trio was in front of the Jaeger household. Eren unlocked the door with the key around his neck and stepped in, but Mikasa stayed behind. She turned to Armin.

"Is something going on between you and Jean?" she asked, her face expressionless. "Because if there is, I'll get rid of him for you."

"What?!" Armin jumped at Mikasa's random question. "No, nothing is happening between us." He lifted his hands in front of him. Armin closed his eyes and smiled sheepishly, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

Mikasa stared at her friend quizzically. "Okay. Just tell me if he does something weird." And with that said, she entered the house and shut the door, leaving a very confused Armin.

* * *

Two days of peace came and went. No accidents, no embarrassment, and no awkwardness. Armin was feeling happy to be alive. That was until—

"Time for Baby Project partners!" Ms. Hanji announced, her arms spread out and a toothy grin on her face. Groans and whines filled the science room. Armin and Jean exchanged nervous looks.

"Names will be randomly picked from _this_ hat!" The crazy teacher snatched a hat from the head of someone in the front ("Hey!"). She reached into her lab coat pockets and took out a fistful of slips of paper, which she dropped into the hat. She shook it violently before saying, "Let's get started."

Ms. Hanji pulled out two slips. "Ymir and... Christa."

_'I guess she wasn't kidding when she said you could be with the same sex.' _Armin thought, shaking in anticipation.

She dug out two more. "Thomas and... Mina."

Two more. "Franz and... Hannah."

Again, Ms. Hanji pulled two slips, but one fell to the floor. "Oops. Armin and..." She read off the first slip before kneeling down to retrieve the other.

Armin tensed up. He couldn't take the suspense. _'Hurry up already!'_ Armin thought. The name on the paper could change everything.

Ms. Hanji straightened herself and unfolded the second slip. "Armin's partner is..."

"..."

"..."

* * *

**Ooooooh. Who will Armin's partner be? Readers can decide in the reviews. I don't want the pick to be obvious so I'll let you decide.**

**Please review because it lets me know if I should continue. _Peace! _\(-_-)/**


	4. Stupid Eren

**A/n: Thank you to all that reviewed. They were wonderful! Before we start, I'd like to make a shoutout to my good friend, ohmyvaldez. She is a much better writer than me and her story is about Rise of the Guardians. If you're into that, go check her out. Thank you and enjoy.**

* * *

Armin wasn't entirely happy about who his partner had ended up being, but he was glad it wasn't Jean. He recalled the event from three days ago.

_Ms. Hanji straightened herself and unfolded the second slip. "Armin's partner is..."_

"_..."_

"_..."_

"_...Sean." The teacher finally announced. Both Jean and Armin let out sighs of relief and laughed lightly. Neither boy wanted to be the others partner; yet the reason was still unclear. Armin thought it was because the awkward tension would be too great, but deep down he knew there was much more. He wiped the sweat on his brow from the anxiety and raised his head to search for the previously mentioned boy who wold be his partner for the following months._

_He spotted Sean at the front of the classroom. He was tall with short dark brown hair and he wore a sleeveless gray tee that revealed his fairly muscular arms. Armin knew from his friends that Sean was a member of the football and basketball team and that he was a playboy with a slight crack addiction. Armin frowned at the prospect of having to care for a baby with him. He returned his attention to Ms. Hanji who had pulled two more slips out of the hat._

"_Jean and..." The room went silent. The pieces of paper were like cards of fate that decided your entire future—everybody wanted to know. Ms. Hanji paused like she did with the rest of the pairings to play with students. "...Jen. Hehe... Jean and Jen sounds funny."_

_Armin turned his head to the right to view Jen sitting at the table beside his. She was a chubby girl with red glasses and blond hair containing streaks of the same color. Jean sucked in air between his teeth immediately after seeing the girl. Armin whipped around and punched his arm. Jean whimpered and clutched his numb limb. For someone small, Armin could really hit._

"_Ow! What was that for!" Jean yelped._

"_For being rude and disrespectful." Armin answered, anger in his voice and his eyes glaring. Jean found it a little cute, but he quickly shoved the thought away. He apologized sincerely and afterward,both boys avoided speaking and looking at each other for the rest of the class. At the end of the day, Armin was relieved his partner wasn't the one person he couldn't stand having to watch over a plastic doll with._

Three days later, Armin stood in the noisy hallway at his opened locker, retrieving some things for his third class of the day, Geometry with Ms. Ral. He rummaged his hands through the mess of books, pencils, and other supplies and growled in frustration. "Where is it!" Armin was going through a difficult week. After his partner, Sean, had dumped the entire baby project into Armin's hands, the blond was derived of his much needed sleep due to the wretched baby. The doll was somehow able to let out screams and cries whenever a person held it the wrong way, didn't feed it, or or did something wrong and it was because of this that Armin was going insane. The baby was also required to go where ever the couple went so Armin was at the brink of exploding. He couldn't do it alone. Eren and Mikasa couldn't help because The three barely saw each other at school except for a few classes and lunch.

"Need some help?" A voice asked to his right. Armin stopped searching and leaned back to peek at the owner of the voice hidden behind the green door of his locker. It was Jean with a dorky smile plastered on his face and his forearm leaning on the other lockers.

"What are you doing here?" Armin scowled, returning to his locker. Honestly, he was too tired too deal with the taller boy.

"Don't get mad. This _is_ my locker." Jean said and unlocked the small door beside Armin's. He reached in and retrieved a textbook labeled 'Algebra.'

"Great. Just great." Armin muttered. He was sick of having Jean constantly springing up wherever he went. English, Study Hall, Science, P.E., and now even the hallways. Was there anywhere Jean wasn't bothering the poor boy.

Armin found the textbook he was looking for beneath a tower of novels and geography books and forced it out. He shoved it into his bag—crushing the doll which started to cry—and shut his locker. He turned and started towards Ms. Ral's classroom, brushing past other students. The blond took no notice to Jean slamming his locker and bounding after him.

"Hey! Wait up!" Jean called behind Armin and the smaller turned on his heel and crossed his arms. Jean halted and stood a feet in front of Armin. Passing students avoided the two and payed no attention to them. Jean scratched the back of his head. "Do you... want a cup of coffee after school or something?"

"Why?"

Jean blushed and answered. "I just thought we could hang out and get to know each other since we're not really close. Maybe we could talk about school or do some homework. It's just that everything has been awkward between us since the beginning of the year and I don't want it to be. This might seem really weird and really sudden and that it's out of nowhere, but I just really want to get along." Jean was rambling. " I don't want what's happening between me and Eren to stop a possible relationship."

Armin widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows at Jean's last sentence. "A possible relationship?" He repeated.

Jean realized his mistake and his cheeks burned redder. "Not like that! I meant like a friendship. Ha..." He stared at his feet and silence fell over him. Armin knew the passing period was drawing to a close and he really needed to end this conversation so he wanted to say no. But he knew it would a merciless rejection. On the other hand, Armin didn't want to accept either because the offer seemed too abrupt and so unlike Jean. He was conflicted.

"Maybe." Armin spoke up. " Right now I can't decide because I have to get to class, but I'll tell you my decision later. Okay?"

"Of course." Jean grinned like a child. Armin didn't understand why; he hadn't even said yes yet. " I'll see you later at science." He waved a goodbye and sped off.

Armin chuckled to himself before heading to his next class, too. He definitely didn't miss how nervous Jean was when he was asking him out on a date—if that's what it was going to be. The blond found it rather... adorable. Armin smiled when the bell signaling the beginning of third period rang and and echoed in the halls.

_'Shit_._'_

* * *

Geography passed just as quickly as Geometry did and when the time for Health class came along, Armin accepted Jean's offer for coffee—after a lot of thought—and it too flew by. Lunch rolled around the corner and Armin was sitting at a table outside at the square in front of the auditorium. Other tables were scattered around and beneath them, in the middle of the square, was the Sina High logo, the Wings of Freedom. Armin was sitting with Eren, Mikasa, Connie, and Sasha—the usual. He picked at his tray of spaghetti while listening in on the topic of Levi, the Study Hall teacher.

"He gave me a detention for sleeping in his class!" Eren said as if it were much of a surprise. "That short bastard."

"Well, Eren, you're not supposed to sleep during class. It's disrespectful and it shows that you think the class is boring." Mikasa said, ignoring Sasha as she snatched a slice of french toast from her plate. Armin noticed this and he gazed at the toast.

_'Jean is French.'_ Armin stated in his head, glad no one could hear—or so he thought..

"What did you say, Armin? Something about Jean being French." Armin looked up from the toast and saw all eyes on him. It had been Eren who had asked the question. He did not look happy at the mention of the brunette.

Armin thought about his next words very carefully."Oh, nothing. Sasha just took Mikasa's toast and the toast reminded me Jean because he's French and did I mention that he asked me out on a date?" Okay. Maybe not _very_ carefully. The words came out quick and jumbled.

"WHAT!?" Armin's friends yelled in unison, even Mikasa.

"He asked you out on a date?" Sasha hissed. " How scandalous. I didn't know you had it in you, Armin. I didn't even know you were gay."

Connie slowly raised his hand. "I kinda did. I mean he does look like a girl."

"No, no, no." Armin tried to speak above their voices. His "friends" didn't even give him a chance to explain. Armin couldn't believe them. They had jumped to the conclusion that he was gay and this annoyed him. "First of all, thanks a lot, Connie. And second, it isn't really a date. Jean just wants to hang out so we can become friends. That means I am most definitely not gay. I can't believe you guys would think that." Armin got off the bench, leaving his lunch, and stomped off. Eren hesitated before pursuing him and taking hold of his arm.

"Why are you doing this?" Eren questioned, angry with his friend. "Why are you getting close to Jean? He's nothing but an arrogant jerk who can't keep his mouth shut and you're being stupid for not seeing that."

"No he is not!" Armin shot back, ripping his arm from Eren's grasp. The situation had quickly escalated. "These past weeks, I've seen a different side of Jean—a nicer side. And if you can't see it then that's your problem. You deal with it and don't drag me in. I am going on this 'date' and there's nothing you can say or do to change my mind." Armin was boiling. He had had enough of Eren's pointless rivalry with Jean. was starting to be nice to him and if he was kind enough to offer a coffee, then Armin could look past what Eren had depicted him to be.

"But—" Eren started.

"Eren." Mikasa had risen from her seat and had placed her hand on Eren's shoulders. "Just drop it. People are staring." Armin looked around and, in fact, people had stopped what they were doing to look at the argument. Eren balled his hands into fists and grit his teeth. He was angry at Armin for being so blind.

"Fine." He spat. "Go on your date, _fag._" Eren spun around and walked back to the table seated by a shocked Connie and Sasha.

That was when Armin started running. His eyes were stinging; tears threatened to fall. The whole year was a mess and it was all because of Jean. _'Stupid Jean, stupid Eren, stupid baby.' _Armin thought. He didn't stop running until he found himself on the platform overlooking the track and the football field at the end of campus. This was what a word could do to a person. Tears and confusion. Armin lowered and sat on the ground. He hugged his knees to his chest and started tearing up. He was glad nobody could see and that nobody had followed him.

"Armin."

The mentioned blond jumped onto his feet and turned to find Jean of all people. Armin wiped his tears with the sleeve of his jacket. "What?" he sniffled.

"I saw you running here. You looked hurt and about to cry so I followed. What's wrong." He looked genuinely pitied.

I just need a shoulder to cry on." Armin admitted. He figured it wouldn't matter.

"Then lean on me." Jean stepped forward and surprised Armin by wrapping his arms around him and hugging him. The smaller boy's face was pressed against Jean's shoulder. Armin froze, but took in the warmth of Jean's body and returned the hug. He began sobbing.

* * *

After Armin had calmed down and stopped dampening Jean's shirt, he told his new friend everything that had happened with Eren. Jean face twisted with rage, but Armin had told him it was okay and that he would deal with it later. They had both agreed that their little after school coffee would be postponed and that it was, in fact, not a date. The lunch dismissal bell rang, but both boys agreed not to leave. Armin was too exhausted and, honestly, they enjoyed each others company. Jean started telling Armin stories about his family and friends to pass time and to rekindle Armin's spirit. Armin learned more about Jean, like how his family owned a bakery in town, and realized he was indeed much nicer. He noticed how he would ramble and how his smile was so dorky, but he loved it. It was perfect. His best friend's enemy was now his friend and his best friend was now his enemy.

Classes ended and Jean and Armin went together to retrieve their bags, Jean continuing to cheer up Armin. Jean offered to give Armin a ride home in his car that Armin never knew he had, but he declined. He was fine with walking. They said their goodbyes—for now—and separated. Armin immediately felt lonely inside.

When Armin arrived at his home thirty minutes later, he greeted his father, trudged up the stairs and to his room, and collapsed onto his bed. He cried himself to sleep knowing the guy he liked would never like him back.

* * *

** Don't be mad because I didn't choose Jean as Armin's partner. Just wait and you shall receive.  
**


End file.
